ABIT VA6 Apollo Pro 133 Slot-1 ATX

In spite of the fact that the VA6 does not support AGP 4X transfer modes, the board is outfitted with a universal AGP connector, a feature we normally see reserved to AGP 4X compliant motherboards. There is no harm in doing this, as all the universal AGP connector does is it allows for any AGP card, whether 3.3v or 1.5v, to be used in the slot. For those of you that aren't familiar with the standards, AGP 2X cards feature the 3.3v notch towards the end of the connector nearest the VGA output while AGP 4X cards feature an additional 1.5v notch towards the end of the connector furthest from the VGA output.

In an effort to stick to the already designed BH6 layout, ABIT made no effort to add an additional slot in order to support audio modem riser cards. While there is no AMR slot on the VA6, the board does feature VIA's VT1611A AC'97 codec which is used to drive the on-board sound connector. Keep in mind that the VT1611A is a software based codec meaning it uses your CPU's power to do most of the work.

Just like with the old BH6, ABIT was forced to locate the ATX power connector above the Slot-1 connector on the VA6. Surrounding the ATX connector are a handful of 1000uF capacitors positioned to help filter the power signal supplied to the CPU. Unfortunately this doesn't help attain a level of stability uncommon to ABIT, quick translation, the VA6 wasn't ABIT's most stable motherboard we've ever seen.

The VA6 does boast ABIT's SoftMenu setup, however it does not feature the newly implemented SoftMenu III that is present on the ABIT BF6. Instead the VA6's setup pales in comparison to the BF6, one of ABIT's flagship BX line, in that it "only" supports the following FSB frequencies all selectable only through the BIOS setup: 66 / 75 / 83 / 100 / 105 / 110 / 112 / 115 / 120 / 124 / 133 / 140 and 150MHz. Selecting an FSB setting less than 100MHz forces an AGP clock ratio of 1:1 with the FSB setting; picking a setting between 100MHz and 124MHz, inclusive, defaults to an AGP ratio of 2:3 with the FSB; and finally selecting anything faster than 124MHz (133MHz and above) the AGP clock ratio is set to 1:2, a feature of the 693A North Bridge.

The CPU's clock multiplier and voltage settings can also be selected from within the BIOS, make the VA6 true to the ABIT style of manufacturing only fully jumperless motherboards.

Hardware monitoring on the VA6 is provided courtesy of VIA's 686A South Bridge. The chip can monitor three temperatures, one being the temperature of the 686A chip itself and two external thermistor values. One thermistor is already built onto the motherboard, positioned between two capacitors near the memory slots. There is a single remaining thermistor header placed near the Slot-1 connector, however ABIT failed to include a thermistor for use with that header.

ABIT's classic User's Manual comes bundled with the VA6. While the manual itself does have some glaring errors, for example stating that the 133MHz FSB frequency isn't officially supported, the documentation can be quite useful to users that are building their very first systems. We have seen better User's Manuals from ABIT in the past that go into greater detail with the actual installation process, let's just hope that the VA6's manual was simply a fluke that made it by the QA team. ABIT doesn't hesitate to include the usual bundled drivers and utilities that do come in handy if you don't have an active Internet connection while you're setting up your system.